51220-51229
EDUCATION CODE
SECTION 51220-51229
51220. The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer courses in the following areas of study: (a) English, including knowledge of and appreciation for literature, language, and composition, and the skills of reading, listening, and speaking. (b) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding the history, resources, development, and government of California and the United States of America; instruction in our American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal and civil law and the State and Federal Constitutions; the development of the American economic system, including the role of the entrepreneur and labor; the relations of persons to their human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and civilizations; human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust, and contemporary issues. (c) Foreign language or languages, beginning not later than grade 7, designed to develop a facility for understanding, speaking, reading, and writing the particular language. (d) Physical education, with emphasis given to physical activities that are conducive to health and to vigor of body and mind, as required by Section 51222. (e) Science, including the physical and biological aspects, with emphasis on basic concepts, theories, and processes of scientific investigation and on the place of humans in ecological systems, and with appropriate applications of the interrelation and interdependence of the sciences. (f) Mathematics, including instruction designed to develop mathematical understandings, operational skills, and insight into problem-solving procedures. (g) Visual and performing arts, including dance, music, theater, and visual arts, with emphasis upon development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative expression. (h) Applied arts, including instruction in the areas of consumer and homemaking education, industrial arts, general business education, or general agriculture. (i) Career technical education designed and conducted for the purpose of preparing youth for gainful employment in the occupations and in the numbers that are appropriate to the personnel needs of the state and the community served and relevant to the career desires and needs of the pupils. (j) Automobile driver education, designed to develop a knowledge of the provisions of the Vehicle Code and other laws of this state relating to the operation of motor vehicles, a proper acceptance of personal responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation of the causes, seriousness and consequences of traffic accidents, and to develop the knowledge and attitudes necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles. A course in automobile driver education shall include education in the safe operation of motorcycles. (k) Other studies as may be prescribed by the governing board. 51220.1. In addition to the requirements specified in subdivision (j) of Section 51220, automobile driver education shall be designed to develop a knowledge of the dangers involved in consuming alcohol or drugs in connection with the operation of a motor vehicle. 51220.2. (a) For purposes of subdivision (b) of Section 51220, "instruction in our American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal and civil law and the State and Federal Constitutions" may include participation in a teen court or peer court program as described in subdivision (b). (b) A teen court or peer court program shall include each of the following components: (1) Adjudicates nonviolent misdemeanor offenses committed by pupils in which both the defendant and the defendant's parents agree to participate in the teen court or peer court proceedings and agree to abide by the teen court's or peer court's ruling. (2) Uses other pupils as jurors, district attorney, counsel for the defense, bailiff, and court clerk. (3) Operates in cooperation with the court, probation department, district attorney, and public defender. 51220.4. For purposes of subdivision (j) of Section 51220, a course in automobile driver education shall include, but is not limited to, education regarding the rights and duties of a motorist as those rights and duties pertain to pedestrians and the rights and duties of pedestrians as those rights and duties pertain to traffic laws and traffic safety. 51220.5. (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following: (1) The family is our most fundamental social institution and the means by which we care for, prepare, and train our children to be productive members of society. (2) Social research shows increasingly that the disintegration of the family is a major cause of increased welfare enrollment, child abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, and criminal activity. (3) The lack of knowledge of parenting skills and the lack of adequate preparation to assume parental responsibilities are not only major causes of family disintegration, but also contribute substantially to the disastrous consequences of teen pregnancy. (4) Because the state government bears much of the economic and social burden associated with the disintegration of the family in California, the state has a legitimate and vital interest in adequately preparing its residents for parenthood. (b) The Legislature recognizes that the public education system is the most efficient and effective means to educate the populace on a large-scale basis, and intends, therefore, to use the public education system to ensure that each California resident has an opportunity to acquire knowledge of parenting skills prior to becoming a parent. That knowledge should include, at a bare minimum, all of the following: (1) Child development and growth. (2) Effective parenting. (3) Prevention of child abuse. (4) Nutrition. (5) Household finances and budgeting. (6) Personal and family interaction and relations. (7) Methods to promote self-esteem. (8) Effective decisionmaking skills. (9) Family and individual health. (c) Commencing with the 1995-96 fiscal year, the adopted course of study for grade 7 or 8 shall include the equivalent content of a one-semester course in parenting skills and education. All pupils entering grade 7 on or after July 1, 1995, shall be offered that course or its equivalent content during grade 7 or 8, or both. On or before January 1, 1995, the State Department of Education shall supply, to each school district that includes a grade 7 or 8, a sample curriculum suitable either for implementation as a stand-alone one-semester course or for incorporation within identified existing required or optional courses, with content designed to develop a knowledge of topics including, but not limited to, all of the following: (1) Child growth and development. (2) Parental responsibilities. (3) Household budgeting. (4) Child abuse and neglect issues. (5) Personal hygiene. (6) Maintaining healthy relationships. (7) Teen parenting issues. (8) Self-esteem. A district that implements the curriculum set forth in this subdivision in a stand-alone required course may exempt a pupil from the course if the pupil requests the exemption and satisfactorily demonstrates mastery of the course content. The district shall determine the method by which a pupil may demonstrate this mastery. (d) Commencing with the 1993-94 fiscal year, community college districts may offer, to interested individuals, noncredit fee-supported courses in parenting skills and education as described in subdivision (c). (e) This section is not intended to replace existing courses that accomplish the intent of this section. School districts may meet the requirements of this section with existing courses of study offered in any of grades 6 to 9, inclusive, that includes the course contents identified in subdivision (c). When the parenting skills and education curriculum is incorporated within courses other than consumer and home economics courses, these courses are not subject to the curricular standards specified in Section 2 of Chapter 775 of the Statutes of 1989 or in the consumer and home economics education model performance standards and framework. Teachers of courses other than consumer and home economics that incorporate parenting skills and education are not required to meet the qualifications specified for teachers of consumer and home economics. (f) This section shall become operative only if a funding source is identified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the purposes of this section on or before January 1, 1995. (g) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall identify the funding source for this section from existing resources or private resources, or both, that may be available for the purposes of this section. The superintendent shall notify school districts when sufficient funds have been identified and are allocated to cover all costs relating to the operation of this section. 51220.6. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a private school is not required to offer courses in driver education or driver training. (b) This section shall not be construed to require a private school to offer automobile driver education that meets the requirements of this chapter unless the private school requests the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a certificate of satisfactory completion form. (c) For purposes of subdivision (j) of Section 51220, Section 51220.1, and subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 12814.6 of the Vehicle Code, the satisfactory completion by a pupil of an Internet-based, correspondence, or other distance-learning course in automobile driver education offered by a private secondary school satisfies the driver education instructional requirements of those provisions and the Department of Motor Vehicles shall issue certificates of satisfactory completion forms if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The private secondary school has a current affidavit or statement on file in compliance with Section 33190. (2) The private secondary school utilizes the Department of Motor Vehicles' driver education curriculum developed under subdivision (f) of former Section 12814.8 of the Vehicle Code for providing the automobile driver education course, or the private school certifies to the Department of Motor Vehicles that the curriculum used is educationally equivalent to the Department of Motor Vehicles' curriculum. (3) All certificates issued to a private school by the Department of Motor Vehicles shall remain under the exclusive control of that school. A school shall only issue a certificate to a student who is enrolled in the private school, and has successfully completed a driver education course offered by that school. (4) All course curriculums contain the school name, school address, and telephone number. (5) Internet web pages or CD courses are reasonably secure and protected from unauthorized access, modifications, or extraction of confidential data. (6) Test questions for Internet and CD courses are secured and randomly extracted to safeguard from copying. 51221. Instruction required by subdivision (b) of Section 51220 in the area of study of social sciences shall also provide a foundation for understanding the wise use of natural resources. 51221.3. (a) Instruction in the area of social sciences, as required pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51220, may include instruction on World War II and the American role in that war. The Legislature encourages that this instruction include, but not be limited to, a component drawn from personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or video history, if available, of American soldiers who were involved in World War II and those men and women who contributed to the war effort on the homefront. The oral histories used as part of the instruction regarding World War II shall exemplify the personal sacrifice and courage of the wide range of ordinary citizens who were called upon to participate. The oral histories shall contain the views and comments of their subjects regarding the reasons for American participation in the war and the actions taken to end the war in the Pacific. These oral histories shall also solicit comments from their subjects regarding the aftermath of the war in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. (b) The Legislature finds and declares that the current state-adopted academic content standards already include instruction on the Korean War and the Vietnam War in the appropriate grade level consistent with those standards. The Legislature encourages that this instruction include a component drawn from personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or video history, if available, of American soldiers who were involved in those wars. 51221.4. (a) The Legislature encourages instruction in the area of social sciences, as required pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51220, which may include instruction on the Vietnam war including the "Secret War" in Laos and the role of Southeast Asians in that war. The Legislature encourages that this instruction include, but not be limited to, a component drawn from personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or video history of Southeast Asians who were involved in the Vietnam war and those men and women who contributed to the war effort on the homefront. The oral histories used as a part of the instruction regarding the role of Southeast Asians in the Vietnam war and the "Secret War" in Laos shall exemplify the personal sacrifice and courage of the wide range of ordinary citizens who were called upon to participate and provide intelligence for the United States. The oral histories shall contain the views and comments of their subjects regarding the reasons for their participation in the war. These oral histories shall also solicit comments from their subjects regarding the aftermath of the war and the immigration of Southeast Asians to the United States. (b) This section shall be carried out in a manner that does not result in any new duties or programs being imposed on the school district. In that regard, the Legislature finds and declares that this section does not mandate costs to local agencies or school districts and that materials used to comply with this section shall be part of normal curriculum materials purchased by school districts in their normal course of business and purchasing cycles. 51221.5. For the purposes of this code, the phrase "vocational-technical education" shall have the same meaning as "career technical education" as described in subdivision (i) of Section 51220. 51222. (a) All pupils, except pupils excused or exempted pursuant to Section 51241, shall be required to attend upon the courses of physical education for a total period of time of not less than 400 minutes each 10 schooldays. Any pupil may be excused from physical education classes during one of grades 10, 11, or 12 for not to exceed 24 clock hours in order to participate in automobile driver training. Such pupil who is excused from physical education classes to enroll in driver training shall attend upon a minimum of 7,000 minutes of physical education instruction during such school year. (b) The governing board of each school district that maintains a high school and that elects to exempt pupils from required attendance in physical education courses pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) or both of subdivision (b) of Section 51241 shall offer those pupils so exempted a variety of elective physical education courses of not less than 400 minutes each 10 schooldays. 51223. Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 51210 and 51222, instruction in physical education in an elementary school maintaining any of grades 1 to 8 shall be for a total period of time of not less than 200 minutes each 10 schooldays, exclusive of recesses and the lunch period. 51223.3. (a) During the next revision of the physical education framework, the state board and the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission shall include self-defense instruction and safety instruction in that framework for pupils in grades 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12. (b) As used in this section: (1) "Safety instruction" includes, but is not necessarily limited to, awareness and avoidance of potentially dangerous situations. (2) "Self-defense instruction" includes, but is not necessarily limited to, martial arts, boxing, and other defensive techniques. 51224. The governing board of any school district maintaining a high school shall prescribe courses of study designed to provide the skills and knowledge required for adult life for pupils attending the schools within its school district. The governing board shall prescribe separate courses of study, including, but not limited to, a course of study designed to prepare prospective pupils for admission to state colleges and universities and a course of study for career technical training. 51224.5. (a) The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall include algebra as part of the mathematics area of study pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 51220. (b) Commencing with the 2003-04 school year and each year thereafter, at least one course, or a combination of the two courses, in mathematics required to be completed pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 51225.3 by pupils while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, prior to receiving a diploma of graduation from high school, shall meet or exceed the rigor of the content standards for Algebra I, as adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 60605. (c) A pupil who, prior to enrollment in grade 9, completes coursework in algebra that meets or exceeds the rigor of the content standards for Algebra I, as adopted by the State Board of Education, is exempt from subdivision (b), but is not exempt from the requirement that the pupil complete two courses in mathematics while enrolled in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, as specified in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 51225.3. 51225.3. (a) A pupil shall complete all of the following while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school: (1) At least the following numbers of courses in the subjects specified, each course having a duration of one year, unless otherwise specified: (A) Three courses in English. (B) Two courses in mathematics. (C) Two courses in science, including biological and physical sciences. (D) Three courses in social studies, including United States history and geography; world history, culture, and geography; a one-semester course in American government and civics; and a one-semester course in economics. (E) One course in visual or performing arts or foreign language. For the purposes of satisfying the requirement specified in this subparagraph, a course in American Sign Language shall be deemed a course in foreign language. (F) Two courses in physical education, unless the pupil has been exempted pursuant to the provisions of this code. (2) Other coursework requirements adopted by the governing board of the school district. (b) The governing board, with the active involvement of parents, administrators, teachers, and pupils, shall adopt alternative means for pupils to complete the prescribed course of study that may include practical demonstration of skills and competencies, supervised work experience or other outside school experience, career technical education classes offered in high schools, courses offered by regional occupational centers or programs, interdisciplinary study, independent study, and credit earned at a postsecondary institution. Requirements for graduation and specified alternative modes for completing the prescribed course of study shall be made available to pupils, parents, and the public. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school district shall exempt a pupil in foster care from all coursework and other requirements adopted by the governing board of the district that are in addition to the statewide coursework requirements specified in this section if the pupil, while he or she is in grade 11 or 12, transfers into the district from another school district or between high schools within the district, unless the district makes a finding that the pupil is reasonably able to complete the additional requirements in time to graduate from high school while he or she remains eligible for foster care benefits pursuant to state law. A school district shall notify a pupil in foster care who is granted an exemption pursuant to this subdivision, and, as appropriate, the person holding the right to make educational decisions for the pupil, if any of the requirements that are waived will affect the pupil's ability to gain admission to a postsecondary educational institution and shall provide information about transfer opportunities available through the California Community Colleges. 51225.4. The governing board of each elementary school district shall certify to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that it has adopted a policy to implement a course of instruction that sufficiently prepares the pupils in the district for the course of study required in Section 51225.3. This certification shall be submitted to the superintendent at the same time the district submits its apportionment reports. 51225.5. The governing board of any school district maintaining a high school may confer honorary high school diplomas upon foreign exchange students from other countries who have not completed the course of study ordinarily required for graduation, and who are returning to their home countries following the completion of one academic school year in a school district in the state. Honorary high school diplomas awarded pursuant to this section shall be clearly distinguishable from the regular diplomas of graduation awarded by the district. 51226. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall coordinate the development, on a cyclical basis, of model curriculum standards for the course of study required by Section 51225.3 and for a career technical education course of study necessary to assist school districts with complying with subdivision (b) of Section 51228. The superintendent shall set forth these standards in terms of a wide range of specific competencies, including higher level skills, in each academic subject area. The superintendent shall review currently available textbooks in conjunction with the curriculum standards. The superintendent shall seek the advice of classroom teachers, school administrators, parents, postsecondary educators, and representatives of business and industry in developing these curriculum standards. The superintendent shall recommend policies to the State Board of Education for consideration and adoption by the board. The State Board of Education shall adopt these policies no later than January 1, 1985. However, neither the superintendent nor the board shall adopt rules or regulations for course content or methods of instruction. The superintendent shall, to the extent applicable, incorporate the integration of career technical and academic education into the development of curriculum standards for career technical education courses. The standards for a career technical education course of study shall be adopted no later than June 1, 2005. 51226.1. (a) Upon adoption of the model curriculum standards developed pursuant to Section 51226, the Superintendent shall develop a curriculum framework consistent with criteria set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 60005 that offers a blueprint for implementation of career and technical education. The framework shall be adopted no later than November 1, 2006. (b) In developing the framework, the Superintendent shall work in consultation and coordination with an advisory group, including, but not limited to, representatives from all of the following: (1) Business and industry. (2) Labor. (3) The California Community Colleges. (4) The University of California. (5) The California State University. (6) Classroom teachers. (7) School administrators. (8) Pupils. (9) Parents and guardians. (10) Representatives of the Legislature. (11) The department. (12) The Labor and Workforce Development Agency. (c) In convening the membership of the advisory group set forth in subdivision (b), the Superintendent is encouraged to seek representation broadly reflective of the state population. (d) Costs incurred by the superintendent in complying with this section shall be covered, to the extent permitted by federal law, by the state administrative and leadership funds available pursuant to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 2301 et seq.). (e) In developing the framework, the Superintendent shall consider developing frameworks for various career pathways that will prepare pupils for both career entry and matriculation into postsecondary education. (f) Upon completion of the framework, the advisory group is encouraged to identify career technical education courses that meet state-adopted academic content standards and that satisfy high school graduation requirements and admissions requirements of the University of California and the California State University, and to determine the extent to which local educational agencies accept credit earned for the completion of those courses, in lieu of other courses of study. (g) The adoption of the framework developed and adopted pursuant to this section by a local educational agency shall be voluntary. 51226.2. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall inform county offices of education and each school district that maintains any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, of the availability of the consumer and home economics education model performance standards and framework. The superintendent shall provide a copy of the consumer and home economics education model performance standards and framework to each county office of education and school district that requests one. 51226.3. (a) The State Department of Education shall incorporate, into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use, those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust. (b) The Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness testimony into the teaching of human rights, genocide, and the Holocaust. (c) The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist in teaching about civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust. (d) The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist in teaching about the Great Irish Famine of 1845-50. (e) The Great Irish Famine of 1845-50 shall be considered in the next cycle in which the history/social science curriculum framework and its accompanying instructional materials are adopted. (f) The Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide adopted by the State Board of Education, pursuant to Section 51226, shall be made available to schools in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as soon as funding is available for this purpose. In addition, the State Department of Education shall make the curriculum available on its Web site. 51226.5. (a) No later than January 1, 1991, the State Board of Education, with the assistance of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, shall establish a list of textbooks and other instructional materials that highlight the contributions of minorities in the development of California and the United States. (b) No later than April 1, 1991, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall make that list of textbooks and instructional materials available for use by school districts throughout the state, and shall submit the list to the Legislature. (c) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall incorporate the textbooks and instructional materials on the list described in subdivision (a) into the implementation element of the history-social science framework adopted by the State Board of Education in July 1987, and into the implementation element of the framework adopted by the State Board of Education for any other subject area for which those textbooks and instructional materials identify important minority roles and contributions. 51226.6. (a) The State Department of Education shall develop and adopt a model curriculum framework for driver education and training that incorporates the rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of Education relating to driver education pursuant to Sections 41905 and 51850, and that is directed to preparing student drivers for compliance with paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 12814.6 of the Vehicle Code. (b) The State Department of Education shall not be required to comply with the requirements of subdivision (a) unless federal funding is available to defray the cost of developing and adopting the model curriculum framework for driver training and education. 51228. (a) Each school district maintaining any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades a course of study fulfilling the requirements and prerequisites for admission to the California public institutions of postsecondary education and shall provide a timely opportunity to each of those pupils to enroll within a four-year period in each course necessary to fulfill those requirements and prerequisites prior to graduation from high school. (b) Each school district maintaining any of grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer to all otherwise qualified pupils in those grades a course of study that provides an opportunity for those pupils to attain entry-level employment skills in business or industry upon graduation from high school. Districts are encouraged to provide all pupils with a rigorous academic curriculum that integrates academic and career skills, incorporates applied learning in all disciplines, and prepares all pupils for high school graduation and career entry. (c) A school district that adopts a required curriculum that meets or exceeds the model standards developed and adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 51226 shall be deemed to have fulfilled its responsibilities pursuant to subdivision (b). (d) A school district that adopts a required curriculum pursuant to subdivision (c) that meets or exceeds the model standards developed by the state board pursuant to Section 51226, or that adopts alternative means for pupils to complete the prescribed course of study pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51225.3, may substitute pupil demonstration of competence in the prescribed subjects through a practical demonstration of these skills in a regional occupational center or program, work experience, interdisciplinary study, independent study, credit earned at a postsecondary institution, or other outside school experience, as prescribed by Section 51225.3. 51229. (a) Each school year, as part of the annual notification required pursuant to Section 48980, a school district offering any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, shall provide the parent or guardian of each minor pupil enrolled in any of those grades in the district with written notification that, to the extent possible, shall not exceed one page in length and that includes all of the following: (1) A brief explanation of the college admission requirements. (2) A list of the current University of California and California State University Web sites that help pupils and their families learn about college admission requirements and that list high school courses that have been certified by the University of California as satisfying the requirements for admission to the University of California and the California State University. (3) A brief description of what career technical education is, as defined by the department. (4) The Internet address for the portion of the Web site of the department where pupils can learn more about career technical education. (5) Information about how pupils may meet with school counselors to help them choose courses at their school that will meet college admission requirements or enroll in career technical education courses, or both. (b) For purposes of this section, "college admission requirements" means the list of courses that satisfy the subject requirements for admission to the California State University and the University of California.